The Surprising Calm at the Center of Wasp Nest’s Violent Power Struggle
The real heroes don’t have royal ambitions
The Science of Cities. 10 Books You Must Read
Nautilus ventures into the urban world to map the mysterious complexity of cities
Schrödinger’s Kittens Are All Grown Up
Offspring of the most famous thought experiment in physics are now testing the very fabric of the universe
Smile, Arachnophiles! New “Happy-Face” Spider Species Discovered
This one hides out in the Indian Himalayas
The Most Precarious Day in the Universe
On the same day the world descended into war, physicists saw reality itself unraveling
Latest Stories
This Toothless, Beaked Crocodile Ancestor Walked on Two Legs
It came on the scene during a time of evolutionary experimentation
Poop Cruises Are No Laughing Matter
We should reflect on what cruise ships stricken with diseases mean for the way we inhabit the world today
How to Tame AI’s Voracious Appetite for Energy
Better algorithms, hardware and computing methods can lower AI’s power drain
Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: Precarious
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more Astronomy
A Look Back at Hubble’s Most Breathtaking Images
It’s been 36 years since it beamed back the first glimpses of our universe from space
NASA Astronaut Films Spectacular Fireball Over Earth
The crewman captured the light show while waiting on a supply craft
History
See more History
Is This Why Science Advances One Funeral at a Time?
As researchers age, they produce less disruptive work
Psychology
See more PsychologyThe Impossible Strength of the Testosterone Myth
Scientists keep knocking it down but it keeps roaring back
Does Sexual Attraction Cloud Our Rejection Detection?
The ability to read signals may be impaired by arousal
What Your Dream Life Says About You
A conversation with a dream researcher about how dream content and recall may reflect personality and thinking style
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Environment
See more EnvironmentNobody Could Save Timmy the Whale
Months of rescue efforts by influencers and millionaires may have just prolonged his death
Coral Reefs Are at a Tipping Point
My underwater dive to discover whether the beautiful ocean organisms are ever coming back
Stare Into the Heart of an Ancient Iceberg
The beauty of the blue ice belies a fragility exposed by human activity
Zoology
See more Zoology
These Odd Birds Flirt by Clapping in the Middle of the Night
Who needs love songs when you can snap your wrists together loudly?
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyThe Bad Seed and the Problem of Blame
A conversation with behavioral geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden about the heritability of vice
A Light in the Dark: Finding the Good in the Natural World
Is it absurd to think that science can inform our values?
How ‘Tiny Shortcuts’ Are Poisoning Science
Seemingly harmless data tweaks are undermining the integrity of the entire field. We must define the problem to prevent it
Finally a Commencement Speech That Gets AI Right
Leave it to The Woz to hit the right note with freshly minted graduates
Read more
See all postsHow Your Brain Decides What Matters
People with amygdala damage are shedding new light on why we trust or fear others
Using Brain Waves to Translate Thoughts into Pictures
Young scientists dream up a way to decipher the mind’s eye with EEG and AI
These Tiny Flies Survive, Even Thrive on Snow
Genomic adaptations power their extreme cold tolerance
After Two Centuries of Mystery, This Is How Tobacco Plants Make Nicotine
Understanding the pathway could lead to better drugs and vaccines
These World-Record Humpbacks Crossed 9,000 Miles of Open Ocean
Their migrations may be a “tail” of mating opportunities
New Species of Deadly Box Jellyfish Discovered
The fatal marine creature lives near Singapore’s “Island of Death Behind”
